Rants on Cycling and on Life:
Photos of people and bicycles that pass in front of my camera

8.31.2009

it started for me... it has already been happening for others... it started for me

this effort to write something was heavily distracted by the sound of a crying childa five year old without enough sleep having a hard time adjusting to the hours of school versus the freedom of summerthe crying continuesthis rant changes tense...this collection of words needs a re-readI am not sure if this re-read is going to happen

Cyclocross in The District: Cyclocross practice in Fort Reno Park

Sunday it happened...it was not cool... definitely not cold... the grass did not have a morning dew...it was dry... it was still clearly Augustalthough it was not feeling entirely like DC in Summersure.... cool for August in DC... but nothing near to actually being coldno bit to the air... no sign of anyone's breathdust... but no morning mistthere may have been a morning mist earlier in the daynot being a morning person I am not that sure what things look like in the earlier part of the day

too warm for knickers I attended an informal gathering to practice cyclocrossdefinitely too humid for knickers... yet I felt I was ready to start thinking cyclocrossdefinitely way too hot for wool... yet it is definitely time to start thinking cyclocrossyes... even if it did not seem like fallit still felt like it was time to get the cross bike over to Fort Reno Park in the am on Sunday for an informal cyclocross practice

on Saturday I had to work... it was the Kennedy Funeral which caused me to be called into workafter pretty much a full day I left out with just little time left for a rideno energy and not much ambition... but a little timewith all my gear on my body and my body on the bike I just was not feeling itto my credit I rode a direction other than straight home thinking even some mellow miles are milesmy level of fitness is such that I can definitely use some miles on the bike

cell phone in hand with the wheels still spinning I checked in with my wife and it was approved that I could go for a short rideit was agreed that I would touch base on their location in an hour or so... I had already been on the bike for forty five minutesin an hour I would call to know if I should finish my ride by pointing to the pool or home

my ride was slow... slow and social...I was looking for distractionshad I had the camera I would have ditched the ride and played with the camerathat said... I never saw anybody that had me regretting that I had not brought the camera

there are times for ridethere are times for the camerait is often difficult to balance them bothto think of the camera detracts from my effort on the bikeit is that simpleso when I am really going to ride... I need to put the camera aside

at one point I rolled at a jogging pace as I talked with a friend who is married to Dave V also of DCMTBanna pushed a baby jogger that was occupied by their youngest of threetheir first girl... who is not looking so much like a baby and more like a toddlerwe talked while I rolled, anna jogged, and eva looked onin that short exchange it was asked if I were going to Fort Reno to practice cyclocrossat that point I had not really given it that much thoughtthe words had passed on the team emailbut the actual event never really became a consideration

after enough time chatting when I could be riding I got back on the pedals and started pushing things on the Capital Crescent Trail where I found the motivation to link up with Beach Drive where I would loop past the Mormon Temple and ride out to Garrett Park Road and then backon the way back I tried to motivate myself with some short high intensity burstsI managed to get the short part down but had very little luck with the intensity

slowing the bike to check in with base I found that Lisa and the boys are no longer at the pool and had already arrived homebeing right by the City Bikes Chevy Chase shop I got a pass to kill some time at the bike shop

again I got chatty... a little banter between Welp and then ChitoI shopped around and ended up getting a helmet and some lubethe helmet on my head got thrown awaythe lube was neededa new helmet to replace the glove hand smelling helmet I had was almost vital

as I was finally on the bike and ready to head home after already staying longer than my assigned time I see DCMTB team mate Raul pull into the shopso I turn it around and say hello to Raulagain there is mention of this informal cyclocross gathering at Fort Reno Park that my brother has set a time for

earlier the seed had been plantedthere had been some gestationnow in talking to Raul the idea started to growback home I propose to lisa the idea of me attending this cyclocross clinicwithout any deals or promisesnever did I have to get on my knees and begthe permission slip was signed and I was approved for a Sunday Morning of cyclocross at Fort Reno Park

perhaps I would have done better to have had two less beers and captured two more hours of sleepbut I was there... Red Bull could have assisted the coffee that had not waked my body enough to want to eat before I rode across town to make the 8:30 start time

there was a good showinga handful of DCMTB peoplea handful of non-DCMTB peoplea wide range of speed and familiarity

the course was introduced with a few slow laps than at the start of the third lap would be two hot laps... for some people race pace... for others some sort of work out pacethis would be the structure of the morninga few slow laps... then a few fast laps... then on with your day

early in the practice there was a crashI saw the crash in my peripheral but had not thought much of itas it turns out a man named Connor tore/stretched/or strained some ligamentsinitially it was thought to be a dislocated shoulder

heal up fast Connorand all others out thererespect the dangers of the bike

practiced ended and I was feeling pretty spentI rode back downtown with Cory and Mattarriving home where I gobbled up the remaining eggs and baconfood that I had to microwavefood that would have done me so much better before the practice yet still tasted so good after

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